My Thoughts on Craft Beer Trends to Look Out For in 2013

Earlier this week I came up this article in Westword, Denver's alternative publication. The title of the article is "Eight Craft Beer Trends to Look for in Colorado in 2013". While I know this article covers a state I don't even reside in, I think it's a good outline of what we have to look out for this year nationwide. So I'm just going to go over all eight points, because I have a blog and my voice deserves to be heard...blarghhh!!!

1. Limited Distribution Packaging - As newer breweries are popping up a a day-to-day basis, we are starting to see a trend in local packaging options, like mobile canning. While it's not something I expect to see much of in NYC, due to the nanny state's hand in regulating the packaging for all this beer, it seems to be something catching on out west. As much as it would be nice to be able to hit up my local bodega and pick up a Pegas-filled growler of Kelso or Singlecut rather than hunt a keg down on Beer Menus, I don't see it happening I'm BK anytime soon. As with the rest of the country...bring it in on. If you have quality product, control the distribution rather than relying on bars alone.

2. Nanobreweries and Microbreweries - What can I say? Four breweries have opened up in Queens over the last 2 months alone, with more to follow all around the NYC Metro area. Don't even get me started on Long Island. I say bring it on. Local drinking is still supporting a localized economy. Maybe the amount of breweries will hit a critical mass, who knows? Not everybody is going to be putting out a quality product, so let the market make and break the new kids on the block. As far as I'm concerned, the more the better when it comes to beer.

3. AC Golden's next big hit - I really don't have much to say about the craft wing of MillerCoors, apparently they are putting out some really awesome beers. AC Golden doesn't really affect our market...yet. I find the recent trend of the Big Guys ploy to grab at the craft market mildly despicable, I also understand that they feel threatened by a culture that is growing a phenomenal rate. I may be a beer geek, but I'm not a snob. I'll try any beer once, even if its produced by one of the Macros. Continuous support is another story all together, unless the options are limited or funds are limited(I'm looking at you, Yuengling)

4. Pelletized Hops - Again, I probably don't have much to say about this since NY isn't exactly a hops growing region. Although the guys over at Bronx Brewery have created the Urban Hops Project, which sets up growing operations in neighborhood gardens am backyards across the city. Everyone loves terroir these days. I don't know how the Bronx locally grown are going to hold up to those coming out of the PNW, I must still tip my hat to the Project.

5. Low ABV Beer - I used to swear by brew that ran no less than 6% ABV. Last year I had the joy of having Carton Boat Beer, New Jersey's Finest session IPA. Since then, the session IPA has become more of a trend, and I embrace it. Quality session beers are something we have all been missing. Why choke down a sixer of PBR at a BBQ when I could have something that tastes a hell of a lot better with similar effect. Quality session beers is what the craft beer world has been missing. I can't wait to see what summer of 2013 produced.

6. Craft beer Co-ops - As I send before, bring on more. Who cares if it's the dream of a single person or the collective love of a group. The ideas of a collective can trump that of a single mind most of the time, so just think of the beer that comes out of such a braintrust.

7. Trademark battles - unfortunately, this is something that will continue to affect every market, no matter how different the copyrights are. Whether it be for the name of a shop compared to that or a brewery, or a beers designated label name verse the name used by a budding brewery, this is a trend that isn't going away anytime soon. Welcome to modern day capitalism and lawyer up!

8. Oversaturation or Undersaturation? - I don't want to talk about it. As of last year, we now have just as many, or more, breweries in America than we did before Prohibition. I for one, dream of a day where there are taprooms in every neighborhood, but that's not going to happen. Lets just see how the current trend develops and not come to any conclusions.

Well that was slightly exhaustive, so lets end this on a slightly lighter note, like a vintage Stroh's commercial.





- Get Straight to the Pint

Monks Love Weissbier...A Franziskaner Commercial

Before the time in my life I made it a goal to seek out as many German biers I could get my grubby paws on, my knowledge of beers from Deutchland was limited. Before move to Brooklyn, my choices in NH consisted of Franziskaner and Spaten. I had tried Beck's first and foremost, but after the first try I really had no desire to tread those grounds again. As a person, or at that point a slightly hairy manboy, I had a preference of the Franziskaner over Spaten. So much, in fact, that I can probably count on two hands how many times I've actually ingested what I consider the lesser of the two. As far as the Franziskaner goes though, there was a time in my life where I barely went a couple days without drowning in Little Stevie's First Weissbier.

To continue in my ongoing quest to bring European beer commercials to the savages in America, I give you a fairly entertaining Franziskaner commercial. Granted, it doesn't have a studmuffin running with wild horses like the Jever ad did, but fat monks drinking Weissbier can be just as amazing for a 30 second spot.




- Get Straight to the Pint

Location:Irving Ave,New York,United States

Clear and Refreshing - like a Jever Commercial

This post is more of a test than anything else. Since my 7 year old desktop shit the bed a few months back, I've been forced to use my iPhone for anything Internet related, including blog posts. Now that I've decided to start posting on a regular basis again, after months if sheer laziness, I have had to resort to Mobil tools I am still unfamiliar with. Hence, a test.

Even though this is but a test, I still plan on posting video on a regular basis, especially in commercial form. Beer commercials in the US typically revolve around some Macro I could give a shit about, but Europe has a wide range of commercial beers I enjoy and still have yet to see advertised. So I'm going to take this time to bring these pieces of video art to an American audience, whether you care about the beer or not. You can thank me later.

Jever was the pilsner that actually caused me to lose disdain for the style. Before my first bottle that was brought to me by the fine gentlemen at Raven Imports, I scoffed at most anything that drew it roots from the Czech city if Pilsen. After Jever, my mind was forever changed. This commercial is about as close as video can portray the way that first green bottle made me feel, including the studliness of the actor. I'm sure this is just a natural reaction for all.



- Get Straight to the Pint

Location:Irving Ave,New York,United States

Who Put a Sea Urchin in My Beer?

Out of all my years being a self-proclaimed "beergeek", 2012 was probably the most adventurous of the 17 plus years since the first time I sipped a Shipyard Prelude. It also helped working at the Growler Station for most of the year. I learned about so many different beer styles, and tried most of them, that sometimes I feel I could give The Bros at BA a run for their money. That's not true, of course, but I really did try a whole world of beer.

Thankfully some of the rarer styles I had a desire to consume became something of a trend to recreate in the craft world, like the oyster stout. The oyster stout has been something I had been dying to try for years, but was never to get my hand on a bottle, due to it being unavailable or my own forgetfulness. At this point I've tried half a dozen, and stouts brewed with oysters are one of my favorite dark ales. The combination of animal and beer in one is one of the lost glorious things I've ever put my lips to. It makes me wonder what other types shellfish could make the nectar of the gods taste better.

I wasn't to surprised to find out a few weeks back that my question is being put to the actual test. Burnside Brewing of Portland aka Beervana has teamed up with a local restaurant to brew a beer that includes sea urchin as an ingredient. Like most of the American craft innovators that are constantly raising the bar, Burnside opted to put their own spin on it and ditch the British tradition of pairing shellfish with stout. Instead they chose yet another style of beer that almost died in obscurity by has since been making a comeback, the Gose. The Gose is one of two styles of traditional German sours that is brewed with salt and coriander, a no-no by traditional Purity Law standards. With the addition of tomato water, Burnside has brought something completely different to the world of beer.

Unfortunately, like Wynkoop's take on the oyster stout, the availability on said brew is extremely limited, meaning while I'm still living in Brooklyn my chances of coming across it are zero to none, unless I for some reason am blessed with an all expense paid trip to Portland I the coming month.

For now, I am eager to hear and read others thoughts on the beer and hoping that if it works out for Burnside, production wot be so limited the second time around.


http://www.thrillist.com/drink/portland/or/97209/pearl-district/urchin-ale_great-beer-selection_bizarre-food_seafood_type/cuisine_type